Issue - meetings

The Committee considered the report of the Head of Audit Partnership setting out the Internal Audit and Assurance Plan 2017/18, including the proposed assurance projects list.

The Head of Audit Partnership advised the Committee that:

·  The Internal Audit and Assurance Plan reflected the results of the planning process which began late last year to consider the appropriate audit response to the risks and challenges facing the Council over 2017/18.  The aim of the Internal Audit Service was to work towards delivering a robust opinion on the Council’s internal controls, risk and governance arrangements.  The Plan represented the programme by which the Service intended to examine these risks, review project work in 2017/18 and provide additional governance support whilst working towards delivering that opinion and supporting the Council’s wider governance aims.

·  The Plan included the level of resources available to the Internal Audit Service for completing audit plans across the four Partnership authorities in 2017/18.  Based on anticipated personnel and productivity within the Service, it was expected that 1,820 days would be available.  This was an increase of 110 days (7%) on 2016/17 and reflected a settled team in 2017/18, a continued increase in productivity as trainees gained experience and the over-performance of management time against forecasts for 2016/17.

·  As agreed by the Shared Service Board in late 2014, the total days were allocated between the partners in line with their financial contribution to the Partnership’s costs.  The total Mid-Kent Audit Service share to Maidstone in 2017/18 was 530 days, an increase of 30 days from the 2016/17 level.

·  As Head of Audit Partnership, he was required to consider whether the level of resources available was adequate to allow him to complete the programme of work, and he was satisfied that it provided the appropriate level of resources.  As part of that consideration, he had looked at the number of audit days across the 42 district councils in South East England and he was satisfied that the level of resources available was not inconsistent with those Councils that shared characteristics with Maidstone.

·  The Plan also covered some of the broader governance tasks to be undertaken such as risk management, counter fraud, supporting Members, including the provision of Member training and briefings on areas of Committee interest, and work on audit planning.  The Service was looking at expanding its role with respect to supporting the Council’s counter fraud arrangements in 2017 driven by forthcoming changes to the CIPFA Counter Fraud Standards.

·  The Plan included details of the risk assessment process resulting in a working list of potential projects to consult on with Senior Officers.  That consultation had led to the production of the list of audit assurance projects included in the Plan.  For each project there was an indication of how many days of staff input it was estimated would be appropriate to complete the work.  This would be determined in more detail when the Service started to scope out the work in consultation with the Officers nearer the time that the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 71